Director’s Message

11 Jan Director’s Message

On behalf of the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) in the College of Education at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, and its affiliated University Laboratory School (ULS), I am pleased to present the Year in Review 2009 describing highlights of faculty and staff accomplishments. In this report we once again emphasize the theme of partnerships and our valued collaborations.

While 2009 was a most challenging year with severe budget reductions, the shift in employment of the Laboratory School faculty and staff from CRDG to the charter school’s Local School Board, and the loss of beloved colleagues, we have maintained focus on our mission to improve education in Hawai’i and elsewhere.

As is often the case, change brought new challenges and new opportunities. The new employment status of the ULS personnel reduced by about half the number of CRDG faculty and staff, resulting in a period of reorganizing, refocusing, and rebuilding. I am pleased to say the organization remains strong, and the changes have opened new opportunities for partnerships and collaborations with the College of Education faculty, the Hawai’i Department of Education (HIDOE), and others.

In this annual report, we highlight some of the exemplary work of our faculty and staff. We have continued partnerships and collaborations with HIDOE, charter schools, Texas Instruments, the Pacific Circle Consortium, and others and forged new partnerships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Hawai’i’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. Of particular note is the partnership with Hawai’i Department of Education to streamline the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards III in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies and to begin work on creating a guide to designing effective professional development.

We are grateful for the ongoing support from our various funding agencies including the University of Hawai’i, Hawai’i Department of Education, INPEACE, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, National Science Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, and the UH Sea Grant College Program.

While these have been challenging times, they have brought out the best in all of us, and we look forward to even better things to come.